How do you manage your finances?

sonastin

I have 2 spreadsheets: one keeps track of everything I spend, logged against various categories like groceries, petrol, bills, etc. I have tried to put a budget against each of the categories to try to make sure there is an allowance for the big spends e.g. "other car costs" is well under-budget so far this year but when insurance is renewed next month its likely to go over. I try to make sure that the monthly total is below my salary but if there are any of the big expenses in that month, it might jump over a bit.

On the other spreadsheet, I keep track of all of my balances: current account, savings account, credit cards to make sure that there is a) enough in the current account to cover DDs, debit card spending, cheques I've written and credit card bills due before payday and b) enough in the savings account to cover the 0% interest credit card when that comes to the end of the deal. Sometimes money has to be moved from savings account to current account (e.g. to cover the car insurance next month - or more probably the month after as it will go on the credit card that needs paying off in full) but usually I transfer any remaining balance in the current account over to savings on the day before pay day.

Cash comes and goes. When my purse is looking a bit empty or if I'm going out somewhere where I'll spend a lot of cash, I'll visit the cash machine or get cashback. That keeps me going until the next time its looking empty, be it a couple of days or a few weeks depending on what I've been doing in that time.

cleggie

On a normal week, I take out (in cash) £60 for food, everything else is left in the back to go towards my DDs (direct debits).
Then monthly, my CB is put into my ISA.
I have just opened a new account, so when that is up and working propery, i will deposit aby spare money left over from my £60 grocery shop every week.

Becky_Bloomwood_2

Hi there. I'm a newbie/lurker and have registered to reply to this post!!

Sadly, i am a bit of a numbers geek and i work in accounts so i manage my budget/spending on a spreadsheet.

I have 6 columns: date, description, amount in, amount out, balance, paid.

Its very simple, i list everything that goes in or out of my account in date order with one sheet per month (the different tabs on a spreadsheet). Then in the balance column i do the sum: =cell above =/- cell to the left. Which works out the balance after that transaction. It means the whole sheet self calculates. I hope i explained that right!!

Then daily, i log on to my bank and update my spreadsheet putting a X in the paid column and over writing the balance formula with the actual balance which then adjusts future money.

Any debt repayments i fill with a yellow background and anything urgent, or special for that month (car tax, holiday etc) is in bold.

I like to do this as i can see on a week to week basis what i have available to spend (how low it goes before the next payment goes in) and i can do "what ifs" by adding rows or changing figures.

I have done a page for every month until the end of the year!!! (I told you i am a geek!)

I start every month with a £0 balance and anything left at the end of the month (yeah right!!!) is used for treats, clothes, school trips, savings etc etc.

Recently, i have started a new job and am getting paid monthly (8 years as a SAHM so it's quite a shock!!), my husband is SE and gets paid "as and when" he earns it!!!

My husband has his own bank account and pays out mortgage and a loan we have which is nearly finished - totalling £550. Anything over that which he earns us used for family things during the month, money for himself or random things like clothes for the kids etc.

I have my own account and my wages go in there and i transfer all bar £100 over to another account we have for bills. All 3 of these accounts are with different banks!!

The bills account recieves our child benefit, tax credits and my wages (less the £100 for me!!). I have also just signed up for a Kalixa Prepay mastercard which i am now transferring the food budget on to as soon as i get paid. We allow £80 a week for the 5 of us. So the figure varies each month. anything left over can be taken off of next months money.

this means the bills are all paid and we dont use any of that money, we always have money for food and we also have money to spend.

You could have mulitple prepaid cards - the modern day version of having lots of different jars of money!!!

Aarons_mummy

Becky I have spreadsheets for the year made up too. Although mine is all bills with a measly £2.58 leftover once everything is paid and accounted for.

I don't have spreadsheets for when the bills are paid, these are all done in my diary and recorded on the calander when they're coming out or have to be paid by

lally666young

I am really bad with debit cards as I am a swine on Amazon and Etsy, so I have to steer clear. If I have the actuall money in my purse I tend to handle it a lot better. Plastic for me is the worst thing invented. Plus I write all my purchases down in a note book to keep a check on what I am spending. then I know when to put the virtual brake on!!!

notatvstar

I have two accounts. Years ago I accidentally got my wages paid into my savings account. So instead of going through the faff of getting my wages paid into my current account I just electronically transfer just enough to cover my DD, rent and what I need for other bills into my current account.

Then I just let what's left sit in my savings account until I need it for emergencies etc... It's worked out quite well really.

Kittenkirst

We have a budget spreadsheet, & I have an app on my iPhone; the app is very handy to record stuff as & when.

We also have a joint bills acct which we overpaid to start with so there is 1.5 months of bills (incl rent) in there after the bills have debited.

Remaining money pays off 0% spending card, and goes to 1st Direct regular saver or our Nationwide saver.

I can spend hours updating the app & forecasting our savings :0D

culpepper

OH wages are paid to the joint ACC
Then transfers made to
bills and vehicle account
Motorcycle Petrol and OH spends Account
Grocery and saving Account
........................................................................
I withdraw enough for the months grocery in cash most months and left overs are used for savings.
We have an emergency fund (the main savings)
and I am just starting to put aside another savings pot for less urgent but still needed expenses (new front door,decorating etc)

When I was young (before PC's), I had a notebook and would log my savings in advance so that when my wages were paid, I had already mentally put them away.

zippychick

ive moved this to our budgeting board so you can see how others manage their finances

Zip

Eponym

My wages go into my Halifax current account. From there I immediately pay rent to my parents (living at home whilst saving house deposit). There are various other DD which come out until 10th of the month (£50 to my S+S ISA, gym membership, phone etc).

£300 by standing order to my Santander First Home Saver account in the first few days of the month - I vary the date every month because it has to be paid in after the second working day of the month so I change it to get the date near that. Once that's gone, I work out how much I'll need for the other DD yet to come out and leave that amount in the current account, plus another £100 or so to cover spending. The rest goes into my savings account, from which I pay my credit card bills towards the end of the month. I put everything I can on my cashback credit cards rather than cash.

I am in the process of transferring my main account from Halifax to Santander's Preferred Current Account, because that provides 5% interest for a year on balances up to £2500. I'll do most of my banking from there but will keep the Halifax account operating with the £1000 going through it every month so I keep getting my free fivers.